A 2 THz Room Temperature Bias-Able Schottky Mixer

Abstract

We report on the design, fabrication, and characterization of a fully solid-state room-temperature compact heterodyne receiver front-end working at 1.90–2.06 THz with 4000K–6000K double side band equivalent noise temperature. The receiver front-end is based on a novel gallium arsenide (GaAs) Schottky subharmonic mixer featuring a bias-able antiparallel pair of diodes monolithically integrated on a thin GaAs membrane and a frequency multiplier chain at 1.03 THz that produces ∼1.5 mW of power. This mixer topology provides inherent benefits, such as ability to balance the two diodes and robustness vis-à-vis waveguide dimensions and packaging. The room-temperature sensitivity of this heterodyne receiver sets a new milestone for Schottky receivers and opens the possibility for resolving the emission of atomic oxygen in Earth's atmosphere.